Improvement in fountain-pens



D. MACKINNON.

-f HUMAIN-PEN.

Patented March 21, 1876.

Inventor.

Eg. fl. filnesses.

N- PEEHS, PHOTO-LHHOGRAFHER, WASKINTON. D C.

.UNITEDSTATES PATENrLQFrI-CE;

DUNCAN MACKINNCN, oFvsTRA'rFoRD, CANADA.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 174,965, dated March 21, 1876; application filed June 18, 1875.

To all 'whom it may con-cera? Be it known that I, DUNCAN MACKINNCN,

ot' the town of Stratford, in the county of` Perth, in the province ot' Ontario, Canada,

have invented an Improvement i-n Fountain; l

in combination with areservoir of ink, the said` writing-point being held in a detachable holder and centrally perforated with a fine bore or hole, through which the ink is led down from the reservoir to the paper in athin thread-like stream. An automatically-acting p valve is seated on the top of the writing-point proper, closing the ink bore or duct, and a spindle attached to the said valve, passing downward through the bore of the writing-point, the duty of the valve being to shut olf the flow of ink when the operator ceases writing, and the duty of the spindle, in combination with the valve, being to start and keep up a continuous and even flow of ink. The valve consists of a properly weighted and fitted head, to which is attached a line tapering spindle of metal passing downward through the bore of the writing-point, and extending a short distance beyond the extrmity of the said writing-point when the pen is not in use. Thus the operator, when he places the point on the paper, lifts the valve, allowing the ink to tlow and the said valve being of sufficient weight and moving in a cham ber corresponding somewhat with it in form, again rests in its seat when the point is raised and shuts off the iow of ink.

An air-conducting tube passes downward through the center ofthe ink-reservoir and ter-v minates near the lower end of the said reservoir.

extends down the whole length of the airtube, the lower enlarged end resting on the top of the writing-point valve, in combination l with'a screwed cap, the object of the rod being to enable the valve to be held to its seat, to prevent the escape of ink when the pen is not in use. A

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an enlarged sectional view of an instrument constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan at a ar of the-,sama Fig. 3 is a sectional plan at b b of the same. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan at c c ot' the same. Fig. 5 is an elevation.

B is the instrument, consisting ofthe two main parts; B,the reservoir, and Gthe Writingpoint holder. The reservoir B is a tube of any suitable diameter hermetically closed at the upper end, and constructed preferably of a met-al, or other material, non-corrosive under the action of ink. The tube is tapped at the lower end to receive the threaded end of the` detachablej writing-point holder C, which holder is also preferably composed of a noncorrosive substance.

E. The writing-point E is made of glass, of

a non-corrosive metal, or of any other noncorrosive material suitable for the work. It 1s a hollow parallel cylinder atits upper end E- for a suitable distance, but finishes downward therefrom to a point of suitable neness in a regular taper centrally perforated by a fine bore or ink duct, e, which bore is closed at the upper end by a valve, F. 'lh'e entrance of this bore is funnel-shaped. To the valve F is attached a fine spindle, F', which passes downward through the bore e, projecting a short distance beyond the extreme end of the writing-point. A suitable seat is formed for the valve F to rest upon, in order that there may be no leakage when the valve is in place. The sides of the valve may be plain, grooved, or tapering, as desired. G is an airconducting tube leading from the top of the Areservoir and terminating at a point a short distance above thetop of valve F. The lower end of this tube is either left open or partly closed by a perforated diaphragm, G1. Gr2 is arod lpassing upward through the tube G. H is a capping-piece screwed on the outside The upper portion ofA the holder for a suitable distance is a parallel.

of the upper end of ink-reservoir and perforated with one or more inlet air-ho1es,h. The inner face of the crown of this cap is lined with rubber or other suitable material, and may be adjusted by screwing the cap up or down to relieve or bear against the top ofthe rod G2, with the object of rmly closing the ink-valve on its seat to prevent the escape of ink, when the pen is not in use, from the point and further to close the top of the airtube to prevent the leakage of ink when the pen is laid in position from the top.

Having now defined the parts of my invention, its operation may be described as follows: For the purpose ot' this description the reservoir is supposed to be filled with ink and the pen in the hand of a writer. The moment the paper is touched to commence writing the spindle F is pushed up, lifting the valve F and allowing the ink to flow to the point in a thin thread-like stream of a uniform size, which stream is transferred to the paper and fashioned into words by the motions of the operator, in the usual Way. Every time the operator lifts his pen the valve F closes immediately, shutting o' the supply of ink, if only for the instant, between the formation of detached letters. This constant lifting and lowering of the valve and spindle in combination with the air admitted hy the tube, starts and keeps up an even flow of ink down the bore to the point of pen, and also prevents any granular or sticky accumulation or deposit.

To replenish the reservoir, unscrew the part G, nearly ll the chamber around the air-tube, and screw the piece C on again. The joint between the two pieces is made watertight by any of the usual means, such as a leather or rubber washer.

In the construction of the di'erent parts of my invention, I do not wish it to be understood that I confine myself to the use of any specified material, but I prefer and advise that non-corrosive substances should be employed, especially in the construction of the writing-point and operating valve. Further, while the cylindrical portion of the writingpoint is not necessary tothe perfect operation of the instrument, still it is preferred that it should be used, both because it affords a means ot' fastening the point to the holder and a suitable receptacle for the ink-valve.

I claim as my invention- 1. The air-tube G, extending to a point in the ink-reservoir near the writing-point, combined with said writing-point E,v having the valvechamber E', ink-duct e, and gravitatin g valve F, substantially as herein described.

2. The writing-point E having a val\'e chamber and ink-duct. as described, the graviv tating valve F, rod G2, and the tube C, com bined in a detachable manner with the tube B, having the air-tube G, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The perforated cap H, combined with the tube or ink-reservoir B C, tube G, rod G2, writing-point E, gravitating valve F, and spindle F', substan tially as and for the purposes described.

DUNCAN MAGKINNON. Witnesses:

GEO. A. Arun, JAMES PEAcocK. 

